mozambique olympic committee headquarters

mozambique, maputo, services

This building has approximately 30.000 sq.m. of mixed use construction: residential, commercial, services and underground car park. The residential area corresponds to over 90% of the building’s overall use above ground level.

The project configures an operation of singular characteristics, for this building will house the future headquarters of the Mozambique Olympic Committee.

These headquarters, an old aspiration of the Committee, meant that the entire building should be designed on that assumption, given the institutional significance and the importance of this organisation in the context of Mozambican society.

The parcel of land measures about 3.500 sq.m. in area and is located on a medium-sized road in Maputo, with aligned trees that strongly define the profile of the road, dotted with various types of constructions of different volumetries, mostly residential. There is a trend today to change the occupation of the lots and larger buildings have been erected as a result of the development of the city of Maputo. About this, we would say that the city’s structure, with a single design of great quality, will absorb these transformations without losing its character and its identifying nature, although depending on the quality and design of the buildings.

We considered it essential to present a building with a contemporary design and image, in which one could see the presence of an institution such as the MOC, with its specific identity, without being overpowered by the rest of the development. A priority, therefore, was that the building should assume an eminently public language, scale and character, that is unique and clearly identifiable.

The residential building is set back 20 metres from the front of the lot and will stand on a second building, which has only two storeys and which advances about 13 metres towards the street. This will therefore be perceived as the base with a functional, volumetric and autonomous character, although a key element of the whole. The surroundings will be highly transparent on east and west, and access to the headquarters will be in a large covered space under the upper residential volume.

The image of the city of Maputo is strongly linked to the decorative shading elements that are characteristic of the verandas and stairwells that make up many of the excellent buildings constructed in the 1960s and 70s.

We endeavoured to use that reference, although transported to the global scale of the building and not featuring only in some of the elements. The upper volume of apartments, therefore, contains verandas (which in addition to being functional create the necessary curtain of shade for the quality of life inside the apartments) will be wrapped in a sort of web of concrete elements. This will create the effect of a vibrant complex as the image of the building is in constant movement, depending on the different points of view and also on the variations of light and shade throughout the day.

The various parts of the building can be reached via the large covered space whose scale matches the dimension of the building. Every attempt was made to ensure that internal and external circulations were as clear as possible and also met the principles of compositive simplicity which inform the entire project.

The complex has two basements with enough parking for the building’s needs and in compliance with regulatory requirements. The upper floor has a leisure area comprising a gymnasium, an entertainment room, changing rooms, sauna and a large outdoor area with a swimming-pool.